Nagin defends untouched recovery funds

• By ALLEN M. JOHNSON JR.
• Advocate New Orleans bureau
• Published: Dec 17, 2008 - Page: 14A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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NEW ORLEANS — With the city facing its fourth Christmas since Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on Tuesday offered a simple explanation for why the city has not yet spent $411 million in federal recovery aid.

“It’s a process,” Nagin said, calmly, standing next to a Christmas tree inside a new police station.

In recent months, other government officials have politely hinted that the city needs to pick up the pace — without starting a fresh round of finger-pointing — if only because there’s plenty of blame to go around.

Nagin said Tuesday that New Orleans received more than $100 million in federal recovery aid this summer for long-term infrastructure projects (such as sewage and road improvements). The remainder of the Long-Term Community Recovery money destined for the city must first be approved by the state, the mayor said, referring to the Louisiana Recovery Authority — the state clearinghouse for federal disaster aid.

Once a city project is approved, the city gets only enough money for design, which is about 12 percent of the total cost of the project, Nagin said. “You cannot get money for a building without going through the design phase. That can take anywhere from six to 12 months.”

He added: “I would love to see (the recovery) move much, much quicker.”

If Nagin appears unflappable, other government officials seem impatient, however.

“There’s $700 million for long-term recovery projects, including $411 million for New Orleans,” said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-New Orleans and an LRA commissioner. “The city hasn’t drawn dollar one, yet.”

Gen. Douglas O’Dell, President Bush’s outgoing Gulf Coast recovery coordinator, last week said he was scheduled to meet with Gov. Bobby Jindal “on the speed of the recovery in Orleans Parish.”

O’Dell did not elaborate.

But Orleans is not alone, LRA figures show.

Out of $700 million for long-term infrastructure projects in five parishes hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 — none of the money had been spent as of Nov. 14, state figures show.

By Tuesday, however, LRA had approved more than $127 million in federal Long-Term Community Recovery funds for a total of 54 projects, said LRA spokeswoman Christina Stephens.